2019 New Ram vs 2019 Ram Classic

[JoelB]

My dad very recently bought a heavily discounted ram classic with the V6. He's loving it so far. Says it's got a really comfy ride and has been getting decent mpg's.

I checked it out and sat in it and what appealed to me was that it was a pretty simple truck. Basic small info screen, just the right amount of buttons.

 

[SeaJay]

Originally Posted by benjy
RUSTY RAMS!!! the biggest issue! no manual tranny means NO sale + i never owner + would never by chrysler products especially NOW!!


I thought none of the big three had manual transmissions available in the half ton versions.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by SeaJay
Originally Posted by benjy
RUSTY RAMS!!! the biggest issue! no manual tranny means NO sale + i never owner + would never by chrysler products especially NOW!!


I thought none of the big three had manual transmissions available in the half ton versions.

Maybe he means that he wouldn't buy any of them new, as they can't be had in a manual transmission. Maybe he's given up on half tons (and up?) altogether as a result.

 

[JoelB]

You can't buy a new full size pickup in the US with a manual transmission anymore. Ram was the last to offer it on the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with the diesel. I think they stopped in 2018, but I'm not positive.

 

[JTK]

Being a Ram "classic" owner and having a bunch of family, friends and co-workers with them, one thing to consider is, do the new style Rams have a different parking brake system?

Reason I ask is, if you live in rustier areas, you will have issues with the parking brake system on classic 1500s and it usually happens way earlier than it should. The actuator bits that run through the rear backing plates corrode and seize up. The usual tell-tale that you are starting to have a problem with it is P-brake cable sag. It can get bad enough that the shoes won't release. I know some guys that have had it fixed under warranty or out of pocket and it's a $1200+ dealer job.

My 2017 starting acting up months ago (after only 2 winters!) and I was able to manually free it up, but haven't used the P-brake since. I'll be doing brakes all the way around on it soon and I'm hoping to be able to free mine up 100% when I pull the rears apart.

This should be a non-issue for those who don't live in the rust belt.

For those that do, maybe working the P-brake several times per week could avoid this? I did exercise mine, but it wasn't weekly.